No medals for Chiefs who came close at the Ricoh on Sunday in a disappointing 13-6 defeat.

When Dave Ewers drove over Wasps try line, you could be excused for putting your mortgage on the big man scoring. It was not to be as Wasps glamour boy, Danny Cipriani, contorted his torso under the ball preventing Dave’s try.

Conceding just one try in our past two outings, it would be reasonable to expect a better return than a mere two league points.

Unfortunately, the distance between success and failure at this level is wafer thin. From a happy position 10 points clear at the top of the league in December, we find ourselves slipping to second spot trailing Saracens by a point after three consecutive Premiership defeats.

The pressure remains unrelenting with previously struggling Saints coming to Sandy Park on Saturday. With a record of five wins from their last seven outings the arrival of 70-year-old Alan Gaffney as ‘Technical Coaching Consultant’ has sparked an immediate upturn in Saints results.

Read More

Chiefs current dip in form will not have been missed by Gaffney, who will certainly target Chiefs as a team he believes he can take points from as Northampton continue to build their recovery. No pressure then!

The Social media was awash with questions, speculation and doubts over the officiating of Sunday’s game. In my view, yes there was a Wasps knock on in the scrum prior to their try and yes, there was a missed high tackle on Will Chudley – and yes, Chiefs made more ground and enjoyed significantly more possession than Wasps – but in the final analysis, Wasps’ 13 points was enough to take the honours on the day.

Minded of small margins, those watching the Winter Olympics have learned that just one hundredth of a second can separate Victor from Vanquished in an amazing sport known as ‘The Skeleton’.

By way of explanation, Skeleton athletes launch themselves down a steeply sloping ice track on little more than a ‘Tea Tray’. Dropping some 117 metres on a 1375 metre track at speeds over 80 mph, competitors slide around 18 breakneck banked turns in some 53 seconds.

Read More

I was amazed to learn that the said ‘tea tray is in-fact a high-tech sledge costing up to £15,000.

Clare Balding and millions watching on TV went into raptures as Britain's ‘Queens of Speed’, Lizzy Yarnold and Laura Deas claimed gold and bronze medals in Pyeongchang South Korea.

Hailed as Great Britain's most successful day ever in Winter Olympics, 19-year-old Izzy Atkins added to the days medal count with a ski slopestyle bronze.

Repeating her gold medal exploits from 2104 in Sochi, 29-year-old Yarnold became the first British skeleton Olympian to win successive winter golds. Such was the nations euphoria, that Sunday’s national press elevated back page coverage to banner front page headlines, ensuring Lizzy Yarnold her place in sporting history and a short odds-on favourite for a New Year ‘Gong.’

On the other side of the coin, Britain’s pre-games speed skating ‘Golden Girl,’ Elise Christy crashed out in dramatic style in both semi-finals of her first two events and was disqualified in her third. The agony of Miss Christy made doubly hard to handle as she fell and was eliminated from the same event in 2014.

Read More

Staying with the winter Olympics, I was interested to learn of the dramas affecting Britain’s National Bobsleigh Federation. Beset by allegations of bullying, racism and harassment, the sport’s governing body faced additional accusations of sexism in the way it allocates funding to support three male teams while withdrawing Britons ladies funding.

Undaunted by the loss of official funds the two Micas, McNeil and Moore astonishingly raised £41,000 from ‘crowd funding’ to finance their Olympic trip.

This, on top of buying their own bobsleigh is living testimony to the true Corinthian spirit of the amateur Olympian.

I’m told that Danish Olympic Skiing hopeful, Katrina Aerts, lives for six months a year in a camper van to keep her costs low, in order to compete in world class skiing events.

At the other end of the scale, Alexis Sanchez signed a contract with Manchester United reported to be valued at £600,000 a week once a £20m signing on fee, bonuses and image rights are factored in.

The deal makes Sanchez currently the highest paid player in Premier League history. Should he ever have the desire to be an Olympic Bobsleigh competitor, I suspect he would have little difficulty funding his sledge.

Read More

Sport has evolved and grown over the years from the ‘Chariots of Fire’ era of Abrahams and Liddle to a multi-billion international industry.

I like to believe that the indomitable human spirit to compete and do ones best to be the best, remains at the heart of sporting competition. Honour, team spirit and integrity remain important in my book and I would hate to see rugby follow the course and obscene financial levels demanded by players and agents employed in elite level soccer. Just saying hey!

Returning to rugby and the current challenges facing Chiefs seeking a return to winning ways on Saturday.

In reality, we are not far off the polished performances that saw our Exeter Club score two notable wins over Montpellier and reel seven Premiership wins off the belt earlier in the season.

Make no mistake though, it’s a BIG GAME at Sandy Park on Saturday for both Saints and Chiefs where there will be no quarter asked nor given. The margins are small, and I have absolute confidence that Rob and the team will find our mojo on Saturday to put us back on track.

Read More

On the International stage the Six Nations moves into week 3 of this terms competition. Wales have an uphill battle in Ireland where I suspect home advantage will prove the deciding factor.

Having lost both their previous games, Italy and France will be playing for little more than pride and avoiding the Wooden Spoon, with the Italians probably coming second again in this one. As for England, travelling to Murrayfield full of confidence, Eddie Jones will expect to put a stuttering Scotland to the sword. On form England should win this one with something to spare. My own view is that it could well be much tougher than the pundits predict. In any event a great rugby weekend to look forward to with nothing guaranteed. Don’t you just love this game?